Transfigurations

Welcome to Transfigurations! This blog is intended to serve the orthodox Anglican community and the wider Christian community. We pray that all that is posted here will be faithful to the Scriptures as the inspired word of God, speak the truth in love, edify, bless and transform this local body of Christ, and be an impetus for revival, repentance, prayer and intercession!

Thursday, January 29, 2015

Standardized Culture
...The trend toward bland neutrality is ensured by a process called “bias and sensitivity review.” Testing companies submit each passage and question to anti-­discrimination inspection. States have guidelines on what is and isn’t permitted. Expert reviewers ask, “Does this scene from Hemingway have sexist language that annoys females? Does that question about the Mexican-American War assume something about geography that gives students from the southwest a leg up?”

They spot topics, wording, stereo­types, and assumptions that the most nit-picking critic might flag. The bare chance of inequity moves them to drop a questionable item. From past experience, experts have learned not to take risks. Ten years ago, Diane Ravitch in The Language Police identified pressure groups eager to pounce on a biased test and an offensive book, too. She recounts how one editor told a children’s author whose story had been anthologized but only after every citation of Jews, God, and the Bible had been scrubbed, “Try to understand. We have a lot of problems. If we mention God, some atheist will object. If we mention the Bible, someone will want to know why we don’t give equal time to the Koran. Every time that happens, we lose sales.”

For the tests, educators reason that it is best to avoid certain things outright. The California Department of Education high school exit exam has a long list of excluded topics, ­including:

Anti-Middle-Class Economics: What Obama’s 529 Grab Revealed ...But there’s something else about this proposal: it was almost insanely suicidal. What politician in his right mind proposes a tax aimed narrowly at the middle class, and at such a universally accepted good as education? Even Nancy Pelosi shot this one down.

Megan McArdle suggests, quite reasonably, that this is a desperate move by those who need to finance ever bigger government and are simply going where the money is: the vast American middle class. You can understand why the champions of big government would be slavering over the very thing that defines the middle class, its savings. As she points out, 529s are not the first target. There have already been trial balloons about raiding 401(k)s and IRAs. The truly committed leftist looks upon our private savings as a vast reserve of capital unfairly withheld from its proper function of servicing the needs of the state.

I think that’s the real explanation. This is not so much a rational calculation about how to finance the behemoth state. This is an admission by a man who has no more election campaigns to run, and therefore no pragmatic constraints, about his real outlook and real preferences. A president who just a few weeks ago hailed the triumph of a supposed “middle-class economics” is revealing his hatred and contempt for the middle class...

E-book Momentum Slowing Down ...Finding #3 in the Scholastic poll says, “Kids want books in print—as opposed to in electronic format—even more than they did two years ago. So do their parents. Two-thirds of children stated that they prefer books in print format over books in e-format. In fact, the 2014 rate marks a 5-point increase over that of 2012.”...

Since its premiere three years ago, the show has set cable reality TV records, attracting millions of viewers and hundreds of millions of dollars in marketing. Despite its recognizable, bushy-bearded stars (Phil Robertson and his goofy brother Uncle Si, plus sons Alan, Willie, Jase, and Jep), their supportive wives (matriarch “Miss Kay,” and Lisa, Korie, Missy, and Jessica) bring humor and heart to each episode.

Through the show, now in its seventh season, “we spend more time together, and those relationships have grown and deepened,” said Jessica, 34, who married the youngest Robertson son, Jep. Their family of six recently moved onto the same street as his three older brothers, in their northeast Louisiana hometown, West Monroe...

ISIS hacks Westminster Presbyterian Church's website Contrary to what its website temporarily displayed, the Westminster Presbyterian Church did not undergo a radical shift in religious views. The church's website was hacked by the Islamic State or its supporters on Thursday and carried the statement "I love Islam and Jihadist," a gruesome video, and some very disturbing language, Wate.com reported.

Church Pastor Jim Richter recalled how he woke up that morning with an email from a concerned church member informing him about the hack, and people cannot believe what they saw.

"I think it's terrifying, it's hostile no matter what you say about it," Marty Conley, who lives in Johnson City said. "I thought that was really strange. You don't think about that type of thing happening in our area, I mean little town Johnson City, Tennessee."...

The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland has called for the resignation of Bishop Suffragan Heather Elizabeth Cook who was involved in a fatal car accident on Dec. 27. The diocese sent a letter to Cook’s lawyer on Tuesday explaining the standing committee has unanimously agreed she is “no longer able to function effectively” in her position.

Cook, who became Maryland’s first female Episcopal bishop when she was ordained in September, did not immediately respond publicly to the call for her resignation.

The 58-year-old New York state native was accused of hitting 41-year-old bicyclist Thomas Palermo with her car on Dec. 27 while driving in Baltimore. Authorities charged Cook with vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence and texting while driving, among other charges.

She initially left the scene but returned about 30 minutes later. Authorities said she blew a .22 blood-alcohol level – nearly three times the legal limit... the rest

A.S. Haley: Report on 2015 Mere Anglicanism Conference

posted January 29, 2015

The 2015 Mere Anglicanism Conference in Charleston, South Carolina—a sold-out event—centered on the theme “Salt and Light: the Christian Response to Secularism.” The speakers were left to choose their own individual topics; the organizers merely designated the theme. For that reason, it was truly remarkable to observe how the presentations complemented and sustained each other.

The Rt. Rev. Prof. N. T. Wright, the former Bishop of Durham and now the chair of New Testament and Early Christianity at the University of St. Andrews School of Divinity, gave the opening night talk on January 22. Entitled “How Scripture Outflanks Secularism: the Biblical Challenge to the World and to the Church”, it served as a terrific inspiration for the Conference as a whole, which aims to equip Anglicans of all walks for the challenges of leadership, and “to take theology home with them.” Delivered with an enthusiasm and conviction that was infectious, his talk was nonetheless so densely packed with ideas and new ways of looking at old things that it is well-nigh impossible to summarize in a few paragraphs. Still, I must try.

In a nutshell, Dr. Wright tackled head-on how the Church best handles the secular age: not by confronting it head-on, but rather, by being true to the full arc of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, it outflanks it.

He singled out two major characteristics of secularism that open it to this strategy:
First, it has revived the ancient philosophy of Epicureanism by treating God, or the gods, as very distant and indifferent to man or what happens on Earth, thus conveniently leaving man to run things on his own. The result (in secularism, as in Epicureanism before it) is to shunt God upstairs: and thereby to divide heaven from earth, religion from man—and Jesus from His Church.

(The latter happens when the Church all too often allows it, for example, by thinking and preaching that treats heaven as a place to which we go when we die, to live the afterlife apart from this Earth. To the contrary: Revelation teaches that heaven—the new Jerusalem—will come down to Earth, and the faithful will partake in Jesus’ rule here on Earth. Thus, properly read and understood, the arc of Scripture begins and ends with heaven here on Earth, with God at one with His creation, and Jesus at one with His Church.)... the rest of Part I herePart II

CYMATICS: Science Vs. Music

Monday, January 26, 2015

If God is your own...

For the first two or three years after my conversion, I used to ask for specific things. Now I ask for God. Supposing there is a tree full of fruits, you will have to go and buy or beg the fruits from the owner of the tree. Every day you would have to go for one or two fruits. But if you can make the tree your own property, then all the fruits will be your own. In the same way, if God is your own, then all things in Heaven and on earth will be your own, because He is your Father and is everything to you; otherwise you will have to go and ask like a beggar for certain things. When they are used up, you will have to ask again. So ask not for gifts, but for the Giver of Gifts: not for life but for the Giver of Life—then life and the things needed for life will be added unto you. ...Sadhu Sundar Singhimage

The United States’ Unwritten Blasphemy Laws; ‘Muslim values’; 200,000 of Anyone Else Would Get Coverage...more

According to Newsbusters, CBS is the only one to even mention the March and they did it in passing.

I'm just wondering if there's 200,000 of anything other than pro-lifers which would warrant such little coverage...

Obama goes after your savings account ...Though millions of Americans have been putting money into "tax free" 529 plans to save for their children's increasingly expensive college educations, President Obama would change the law so that withdrawals from the plans to fund college would be taxed as ordinary income. So while you used to be able to get a nice tax benefit by saving for college, now you'll be shelling out to Uncle Sam every time you withdraw to pay for Junior's dorm fees.
This doesn't hurt the very rich — who just pay for college out of pocket — or the poor, who get financial aid, but it's pretty rough on the middle– and upper–middle class. In a double-whammy, those withdrawals will show up as income on parents' income tax forms, which are used to calculate financial aid, making them look richer, and hence reducing grants.

Likewise, Obama proposes to tax the appreciation on inherited homes. When you sell property at a profit, you pay capital gains on the difference between the basis (what you paid) and what you sell it for. (Obama also proposes to increase the capital gains rate). That's not a big issue for most middle class people, because right now if your parents leave you their house, you get what's called a "step-up" in basis...

ASU offers course in “The Problem with Whiteness” ...I’d like to pretend that this is more shocking than it is, but these days it’s just business as usual. The oblivious groups who push this sort of social restructuring and societal realignment via our nations’ campuses have a very clear intent and message, but fail to see how patently offensive it is to so many people. None of them are claiming that there’s anything technically wrong with being white, and they want to be very clear about that. No, the problem is that you walk around being white every single day, waking up, making your coffee, going to work and trying to keep your bills paid, and you do all of that without once stopping to think that you would have none of those things if it weren’t for the way that you’ve helped oppress minorities for your entire life.

The shorter version of all this is that your “problem” isn’t that you’re white… it’s that you act insufficiently guilty for being white...

The Legal Ingredients to Forced Baking 2.0 ...So, let’s examine the facts of the case. A Christian with an uncharitable, harsh, and derogatory message about the gay community wants such values reflected on a cake that someone else would contract to create. The baker (we’re not told whether this person is a liberal or a conservative, a Christian or not) believes that this message is out of line with her values. So she declined her services. The customer filed a complaint, alleging that Silva is in violation of her state’s non-discrimination code. Silva’s plight is identical to that of other bakers, florists, and photographers who were asked and declined to use their creative talents for the purposes of a same-sex wedding celebration. In the first case, the ruling went after the baker because he discriminated against the gay couple when he said no to their same-sex wedding. How is this not the same kind of discrimination if the complainants state that their religion opposes gay marriage, and they want their cakes to represent that doctrine?

Let us be clear: Silva is right to decline her services. In a free country, she ought not be compelled to create a cake that she believes represents a hateful, wrong, or immoral message. Conservative Christians are asking to be treated in like manner...

“I didn’t regret it at all. I was happy for once in my life,” she stated. “We fell deeply in love.”

The two now plan to “marry,” and then move to New Jersey where incest is legal...

What are ‘Muslim values’, Lady Warsi?
...But here’s a thing. Nowhere in either article are ‘Muslim values’ defined. A bit like the Government’s elusive exposition of ‘British values’, Baroness Warsi’s understanding of the values taught by Mohammed – and propagated via the Qur’an and Hadith – appear to be dainty and celestial: peace, tolerance and respect; liberty and democracy; understanding of difference and the acceptance of diversity...

The United States’ Unwritten Blasphemy Laws
...But what about when standing up for a culture of free expression carries the risk of a loss of social or professional standing? What about when the fire chief of Atlanta, Georgia, was fired for expressing boilerplate Christian disapproval of homosexual acts in a book he published? What about when Brendan Eich was forced out at Mozilla for donating to Proposition 8? What about when Bret Baier and Gary Sinise were harangued for agreeing to appear at a run-of-the-mill Catholic gala until they canceled?

Sure, there has been support for Chief Kelvin Cochran, but in almost all cases from predictable sources—those who agree with the opinions that got him fired. It was largely the same for Eich (with a few notableexceptions), and for the Catholic group, Legatus. But if only people who agreed with the content of Charlie Hebdo’s satire showed up online or in the streets of Paris, it would’ve been a lonely adventure. A culture of free expression requires that people who disagree with controversial speech be willing to pin their personal brand to their opponents’. That is something very few will do if there’s a risk that it will tarnish their brand...

Saturday, January 24, 2015

African Anglicans fall out over support for the Episcopal Church of the USA

22 Jan 2015George Conger

The Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa [CAPA] is on the verge of disintegration after leaders of the Gafcon coalition called upon its chairman, the Archbishop of Burundi, to repent or resign in the wake of an October communiqué he endorsed that backed the Episcopal Church of the USA.

The collapse of CAPA, sources within the Gafcon movement tell Anglican Ink, is merely a sign of the wider collapse of the Anglican Communion. On 22 Jan 2015, Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, the Primate of Kenya released a copy of a letter prepared at the December Gafcon primates meeting in Nairobi for Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi. He stated that as “no reply has been received, the letter is now being made public in order to avoid misunderstanding.”

The public rebuke of Archbishop Ntahoturi by the Gafcon primates is unprecedented in African church history, but was not unexpected. In his Advent letter to Gafcon, Archbishop Wabukala called Africa’s bishops to order. Archbisho Ntahoturi’s failure to heed the warnings coming out of Nairobi prompted the public release of his rebuke.

The Gafcon archbishops chastised Archbishop Ntahoturi for claiming to speak on behalf of Africa’s Anglicans, when the position he represents is that of a minority.

By allowing his office and name to be attached to the October 2014 “Transformation Through Friendship” communiqué prepared with the Episcopal Church, the archbishop had become party to a fraud upon the church and a slander against African Anglicans by asserting support for the “unbiblical and false teaching of The Episcopal Church.” the rest

Friday, January 23, 2015

Albert Mohler: Downton Abbey — What Are Americans Really Watching?

January 23, 2015

Excerpt:
Viewers should note the almost complete absence of Christianity from the storyline. The village vicar is an occasional presence, and church ceremonies have briefly been portrayed. But Christianity as a belief system and a living faith is absent—as is the institutional presence of the Church of England.

Political life is also largely absent, addressed mainly as it directly affects the Crawleys and their estate. This amounts to a second great omission. The epoch in which Downton Abbey is set was a time of tremendous political strife and upheaval in Britain. The Earl of Grantham would likely have been quite distressed by the rise of the Liberal Party’s David Lloyd George as Prime Minister. The right of women to vote was a recent development, and the political waters were roiled by high unemployment and a faltering British economy. The signs of the Empire’s disappearance were there for all to see, even if most among the elites did their best to deny the evidence. The great landed estates were draining their lordly title holders of precious capital, and the economic arrangements that allowed the nobility to live off of their estates would never return. That is why so many English lords looked for rich American women to marry. Some of these developments are addressed in the series, but not with the depth of concern that shook the British noble houses into crisis.

A great moral revolution was also in full sway. Birth control was increasingly available and openly discussed. In 1930, the Church of England would become the first major Christian church to endorse the use of contraceptives. Sexual morality was changing with a lessening of sanctions on premarital sex and adultery. Calls for liberalized divorce laws became more frequent. Many argued that the working class should have the same access to sexual liberty that the nobility seemed to allow themselves.

And yet, the secularization of the society was underneath it all. Christie Davies, author of The Strange Death of Moral Britain, gets right to the point: “Behind the strange death of moral Britain lies the strange death of Christian Britain. Even in 1900 the leaders of Christian Britain feared that such a decline might take place.” the restimage

Abortion Bill Debacle; Abortion and the gospel...more

Why Everyone Should Be Terrified By The GOP’s Abortion Bill Debacle ...Sixty percent of voters said they would support it, while 33 percent said they were opposed. Even Democrats were evenly divided (46 percent to 47 percent) on the question. We’re one of just a small handful of countries, including notorious human rights violators North Korea and China, that allow late-term abortion.

What in the h-e-double-hockey-sticks just happened? It takes a special combination of incompetence and cowardice to miss an easy lay-up like this, but apparently the new Republican Congress has it in spades.

Even if you’re not one of the majority of Americans who want to protect these children in the womb, this debacle should concern you. Here are a few reasons why...

About That 20-Week Abortion Bill ...The House of Representatives and its Republican leadership had a chance to take a vote on the question of extending the protection of our nation’s laws to people like me, at least to some of us. The bill was, strangely enough, essentially identical to one the House had already passed. I do not expect that, even had it passed, the bill would have become law. Senate Democrats would have filibustered it, and though that filibuster might have been overcome, President Obama, who should know better, would have vetoed the bill. But it would have been something to have the House of Representatives at least take the vote on the question. I could respect the “No” voters, in a way. At least they’re willing to say what they think. But pulling the bill because Renee Ellmers and Jackie Walorski don’t have the guts or the principle to vote one way or the other? That is — let us all acknowledge the plain fact — cowardice. Ellmers told her voters she planned to vote for the bill at the very moment she was maneuvering to escape doing so.

This is especially shameful considering that the vast majority of voters support the provisions in the bill. This bill was not a problem for Republicans, but for a handful of House members. Majorities of men support these changes, as do majorities of women—for that matter, only 17 percent of the people who describe themselves as “pro-choice” support the current anything-goes abortion regime. On a question that really matters, the House of Representatives had a rare chance to take “Yes” for an answer...

Matt Chandler on abortion

The Horrific Legacy of Roe v Wade

by Bill Muehlenberg
January 22, 2015

Excerpt:
And we still live with the legacy of this today. Indeed, the legacy is a deadly one: those killed by abortion far outstrip the number of people killed by the Nazis. As far as we can tell, some 58 million unborn babies have been slaughtered in the US since this fateful day.

As one article puts it, “The United States marks 42 years of legalized abortion in all fifty states at any time for any reason throughout pregnancy on January 22nd, the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. Since that time, there have been approximately 57,762,169 abortions that have destroyed the lives of unborn children.”

After explaining how this figure was arrived at, the article continues,

The long term trend is fewer abortions, and the number is down significantly from 1990 when the country saw 1.6 million abortions a year. As one measure of the impact your work has had, if the number of abortions had remained at 1.6 million, more than seven MILLION more babies would have died….

Despite the seeming precision, this is not an exact number. No such number is possible. There will always be missed abortions, missed abortionists. Adjustments, however careful, will always be imprecise. But given the data we have, we feel it is reasonable to assume that we have now seen at least 57 million lives lost since Roe. Of course, we all know that we are talking about more than just numbers or statistics. The blood of more than 57 million aborted babies represents an enormous stain on our national conscience and a heavy burden on our hearts.

But these numbers also show us that our efforts have not been in vain. As noted above, if our nation had continued at the rate of 1.6 million abortions a year we saw in 1990, our cumulative total would have been approaching 64 million by now.

That would translate into approximately 7 million more babies alive today than would have otherwise been the case. That is the equivalent to the number of abortions performed over a span of six to seven years–living human beings alive today because of you!

Just a few days earlier US President Barack Obama delivered his penultimate State of the Union Address. In it he too noted the decline in abortion numbers, yet also again affirmed his commitment to abortion on demand. Incredibly, he tried to tell us how much he respects human life.
He said that “as Americans, we respect human dignity” and that “we are a people who value the dignity and worth of every citizen”. Yeah right. In the same breath he reaffirmed the importance of a woman’s right to kill her own baby. Dr. Alveda King, niece of the late Dr Martin Luther King, was quick to show his hypocrisy.

She quotes her uncle who said, “The Negro cannot win if he is willing to sacrifice the future of his children for personal and immediate comfort and safety.” She went on to say this: “What the President didn’t say is that abortion and abortifacients are not health care. They are reproductive deterrents that kill babies and sometimes their mothers. Abortion often hurts women.”
Or as Tony Perkins, President of the Family Research Council said: “While pointing to a decline in the number of abortions, he failed to mention that the taxpayer funding of abortion within ObamaCare, which violates the conscience of millions of Americans, threatens to reverse this decline.”

The truth is, as I have documented so often before, Obama is the most pro-abortion President the US has ever had. He has no concern whatsoever for the slaughter of the innocents, and has done all he can to ensure that the mass killings continue unabated.
Commentator Samuel James put it this way:

As respectfully as I can, I have to say to the President that this is simply inexcusable and insufferable ignorance. I can think of no more laughable moral platform than that which gives pretense to valuing the lives of children, while at the same time declaring that the most defenseless and the most vulnerable among them should be denied the human right of life.

This is moral cowardice in the extreme. It is ideology’s complete triumph over integrity and justice. And it renders the President’s words a hollow and hypocritical sham.

Of interest, on the same day that we look back in such great shame, we also have a move underfoot to start turning things around in the nation’s capital:

The Republican leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives indicates that it intends to bring a major pro-life bill to the House floor for a vote on Thursday, January 22, 2015. The bill is the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 36), which would extend general protection to unborn children nationwide beginning at 20 weeks fetal age, based on congressional recognition that by this point in development, if not earlier, the unborn child is capable of experiencing pain. H.R. 36, sponsored by Reps. Trent Franks (R-Az.) and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tn.), is based on model legislation developed by National Right to Life and enacted in 10 states.

Obama went on in his hour-long address to claim that “No challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change.” Um no. The greatest moral challenge of our time is of course the mass slaughter of unborn babies. the rest

Thursday, January 22, 2015

March for Life: In Their Own Words

Jan 20, 2015

This is the march the media don’t want you to see.

The March for Life is by far the largest annual rally in Washington, D.C., but each year, it’s met with a near-black-out from major media. Last year, in a new campaign to condemn the media's silence on abortion, the Media Research Center invited marchers from across the country to send in video footage for a short documentary of what the march is really like.

The result is this documentary – a compilation of footage from the 2014 March for Life, the story the media refuse to report.

Anglican Bishops on #WhyWeMarch

Metaxas: Living Abortion Victims Speak Out ...Former fetuses like Graceanne and Gianna are our witnesses. They are our truth tellers. They have names and faces, friends and hobbies. And today, they’re looking abortion supporters in the face and exposing their lies: That the unborn child is nothing but a blob of tissue, and has no value... image

The Abortion Survivors NetworkThe Abortion Survivor Network was created by saline infusion abortion survivor and international pro-life speaker and advocate Melissa Ohden, who recognized the need for both support for and among abortion survivors, and better information to be made available to the public about abortion survivors. Who better is there to educate the public about abortion survivors than survivors themselves? Who better is there to provide support to abortion survivors than survivors themselves?

Dr. Alveda King: State of the Union Address Offers More Death for Babies ..."President Obama, in his State of the Union address last night, said, "If we're going to have arguments, let's have arguments. But let's make them debates worthy of this body and worthy of this country. We still may not agree on a woman's right to choose, but surely, we can agree it's a good thing that teen pregnancies and abortions are nearing all-time lows, and that every woman should have access to the health care that she needs."

What the President didn't say is that abortion and abortifacients are not health care. They are reproductive deterrents that kill babies and sometimes their mothers. Abortion often hurts women. In RECALL ABORTION, Janet Morana outlines the harmful impact, of abortion, and #healingtheshockwavesofabortion further reveals why the President's agenda isn't good for women.

Senator Joni Ernst (IA), in the Republican response to the President's speech, listed what the new Congress intends to do for life, saying: "And we'll defend life, because protecting our most vulnerable is an important measure of any society."...

“Pro-Life” Lawmakers Sabotage Vote on Bill to Ban Abortions After 20 Weeks A handful of “pro-life” lawmakers have sabotaged a vote House Republican leaders planned for today to ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy based on scientific evidence showing unborn babies feel pain in abortions.
As LifeNews reported yesterday, Rep. Renee Ellmers of North Carolina along with Reps. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania and Jackie Walorski of Indiana — each of whom have pro-life voting records — objected to a vote on the bill on the grounds that the language in the bill did not do enough to allow women who have been victimized by rape to have abortions.

He couldn’t convince the lawmakers, so, House GOP leadership is canceling a vote that was scheduled to coincide with the March for Life and the anniversary of the Roe vs. Wade decision.

“I’m honestly stunned — what a complete and utter debacle,” says one Republican lawmaker who supports the legislation. The sticking point: “reporting requirements,” as they’re known on the Hill. In short, the bill bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy — when the in utero infant can feel pain — except in cases of rape, incest, or for the life of the mother. But to benefit from the rape and incest exception, the victim has to report the crime to law enforcement...

A letter from GAFCON Primates

A Consultation of GAFCON Primates and Bishops of Africa was held in Nairobi on 3rd & 4th December 2014 to consider a response to the ‘Transformation Through Friendship’ communiqué released from New York on 28th October, signed by five African Primates, including the Chairman of CAPA (the Council of Anglican Provinces in Africa), Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi, and the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church of the Untied States.

A letter was sent from the Nairobi meeting to Archbishop Ntahoturi, copied to the other African Primates and as no reply has been received, the letter is now being made public in order to avoid misunderstanding.

The Archbishop of Rwanda was unable to attend the Nairobi Consultation or send representatives as the House of Bishops were meeting at the same time.
++++++++++++
The Most Rev. Bernard Ntahoturi
Archbishop of Burundi
4th December 2014

Dear Archbishop Bernard,

Please receive our greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus.

We write with a profound sense of distress about your actions in regard to the ”Transformation Through Friendship” gathering. We take strong exception with numerous points.

First, the document itself is a manipulation. It is in fact, not principally about “Friendship” but is in fact an attempt to further advance the unbiblical and false teaching of The Episcopal Church.

Second, we reject the characterisation that the communiqué represents “African Primates and Bishops.” Given that there is absolutely no acknowledgement that there are other African Primates and Bishops who do not agree, the document, of which you were a collaborator and signatory, presents itself falsely. It does not represent the faith of the overwhelming majority of African Christians. This is particularly offensive given your position as Chairman of CAPA. If you are to be able to continue in your position with integrity, we would need both an explanation and an apology. If you are not able to do so, we would ask you to step down as Chairman.

We are particularly grieved because “it is not an enemy that reproaches… but it was you.” (Psalm 55:12-13) Given the fact that you are the Chairman of CAPA, and are supposed to represent the agreed positions of African Primates, your actions have created a tremendous obstacle to our participation in any CAPA gatherings until this can be properly sorted out.

Third, the theologically superficial approach of the “Friendship Communiqué” attempts to effect reconciliation without repentance. Not only did your presence validate unbiblical teaching and practice of The Episcopal Church (USA), but seeks to give momentum to a process which does not solve issues of salvific import. This is an example of teaching that is socially grounded rather than Biblically substantiated. By your presence, you validate unrepentant, unbiblical teaching and practice.

Fourth, we reject the process of “Indaba” as it is being implemented. Rather than seeking true resolution, it has been consistently manipulated only to recruit people to unbiblical positions. “Indaba” as currently practiced, is a fiction advancing human desires that are not informed by Gospel truth.

Fifth, the meeting uncritically proposes “Mission,” without recognising that there must be theological agreement about what purpose the mission pursues, as opposed to Biblical Mission which furthers the redemptive love of Christ through repentance and conversion.

Sixth, while we are certainly aware of the problem of poverty in Africa, we reject alliances that seek to capitalise on economic vulnerability to advance an agenda.

Dear Brother, we know that this agenda does not represent the faith of your Province, Diocese, or even your own heart. We call you to repentance and restoration to join with us in fellowship that is founded on Christ’s truth and is faithful to His Word. In keeping with our East African Revival heritage of repentance and confession, we long to have this resolved. Please know this letter comes not from malice but from a desire for godly fellowship to be restored.

The Most Rev’d Eliud Wabukala
Primate, the Anglican Church of Kenya,
Chairman GAFCON Primates Council

Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Para-medical tattoo treatments; European 'No-Go' Zones...more

Obamacare's Slow Death? ...The results are now clear. The Affordable Care Act has done nothing to unravel the past mistakes that in large measure were (and still are) attributable to excessive regulation and transfer payments. To give but one example, the voluntary coverage supplied by employer plans has dipped sharply from about 60 percent in 1980 to 50 percent in 2010, which on an employment base of 150 million workers translates into a 15 million increase in the number of uninsured persons in the United States.

It would be very difficult indeed to attribute this decline in health care coverage to some hidden form of market failure. What reason is there to think that employers have become more stingy, or employees more indifferent to their health care needs over the last 35 years?

In market settings the usual response to changes in technology and cost is to alter the coverage provisions, the price provisions, or both. Generally, so long as there are gains from trade, these incremental adjustments minimize the loss from adverse developments, and increase the gains from favorable ones. Given the massively improved technologies over the past two generations and an aging population, the proper prediction 30 years ago was that employers should have increased the level of health care coverage, not reduced it.

So we have to look elsewhere for the culprit, and that place is the regulatory state. One key feature of the Affordable Care Act was its ambition. The sign of a good health care plan, we were told, was one that covered all persons from the full range of adverse health events. The new deal was that the state mandates, of which there were hundreds, put to the employer this unhappy choice: either increase the benefit coverage of your plans or exit the markets. The implicit subtext is that employers would choose the former so that reformers could promise an ideal world in which coverage increased while costs remained about constant.

But the actual response proved otherwise. Employees will resist paying for plans that make them pay for a set of benefits that they don’t want to have, whether they be annual tests, annual physicals, or specialized coverage for alcoholism and psychological illnesses. In some cases, the increased costs will not result in coverage termination, but will only reduce the net gains that employers and employees can share from their previous policies. But as the mandates continue to pile on, the logic starts to shift. Now the extra coverage can be the straw that breaks the camel’s back, so that both sides now prefer less health care coverage and higher wages, which is what the market has given us for over 30 years...

Abortion Group Colludes with MD County to Close Pregnancy Center ...Pregnancy care centers have come under attack from city, county, and state officials who, with the support of abortion groups, charge them with false advertising because they do not make it clear that they do not do abortions. Abortion advocates say these centers must make it clear in advertising and signage that they do not offer abortions.

In 2010, Montgomery County passed an ordinance demanding that Centro Tepeyac post signs that they do not have doctors on staff. The ordinance lost three times in court, the last time being March 2014 when a US District Judge wrote that those making charges of misinformation “were universally volunteers from a pro-choice organization sent to investigate” the centers.

LifeSiteNews reports “…unbeknownst to the pubic, Montgomery Country dropped the case after conferring with NARAL. The county stopped defending the law the month after NARAL recommended that very action…”...

IS is demanding $200m from the Japanese government for the release of Kenji Goto Jogo, a freelance journalist, and Haruna Yukawa, captured last August when fighting with Suqour al-Sham, a Syrian opposition group...

European 'No-Go' Zones: Fact or Fiction? ...Fabrice Balanche, a well-known French Islam scholar who teaches at the University of Lyon, recently told Radio Télévision Suisse: "You have territories in France such as Roubaix, such as northern Marseille, where police will not step foot, where the authority of state is completely absent, where mini Islamic states have been formed."

French writer and political journalist Éric Zemmour recently told BFM TV: "There are places in France today, especially in the suburbs, where it is not really in France. Salafi Islamists are Islamizing some neighborhoods and some suburbs. In these neighborhoods, it's not France, it's an Islamic republic." In a separate interview, Zemmour — whose latest book is entitled, "The French Suicide" — says multiculturalism and the reign of politically correct speech is destroying the country.
French politician Franck Guiot wrote that parts of Évry, a township in the southern suburbs of Paris, are no-go zones where police forces cannot go for fear of being attacked. He said that politicians seeking to maintain "social peace" were prohibiting the police from using their weapons to defend themselves...

Text from Gospel of Mark found in Egyptian mummy mask

January 19, 2015

Researchers have found what might be the oldest copy of a gospel—a fragment of the Gospel of Mark—in the papyrus used to make a mummy mask. They speculate that the fragment may date back to the first century CE.

Pharaoh mummy masks are usually made of gold, but masks worn by ordinary people were made of papyrus or linen, and glue. People usually reused sheets because papyrus was expensive during that time.

Scientists have recently developed a way to dissolve the glue holding a mummy mask together, allowing them to separate sheets of papyrus without harming the ink used to write on them.

Craig Evans, professor of New Testament studies at Acadia Divinity College in Nova Scotia, said that the first-century gospel is just one of hundreds of new texts being uncovered using this new technique. Some of the documents discovered had dates on them, allowing the researchers to estimate the age of the other documents in the same mask... the rest

Muslim prayers in a Christian cathedral; "If you like your weak economy, you can keep your weak economy."...more

Suspected Boko Haram militants kidnap 80 in Cameroon Suspected Boko Haram Islamist fighters from Nigeria kidnapped around 80 people, many of them children, and killed three others on Sunday in a cross-border attack on villages in northern Cameroon, army and government officials said...

I wasn't all that surprised when the Washington National Cathedral hosted its first-ever Muslim prayer service in November, given its move to allow a transgender priest to preach there. But my jaw dropped when I heard Duke University, a Methodist school, scheduled an "adhan," or call to prayer for Jan. 16. This adhan is an Islamic chant that includes the words "Allahu Akbar," which means "God is great!'" The problem is: It's not the same God we serve.

Gathering the Faithful, No Church Required ...Much of the recent growth has been driven by individual churches deciding to start new congregations, rather than denominations directing the process. Manhattan’s Redeemer Presbyterian Church has started 300 churches in 45 cities over the past 12 years, cooperating with 34 church-planting networks on five continents, according to its City to City network website. The church-planting group Acts 29 Network has started 500 churches over the past decade.

Yet denominations are still participating—even formal, hierarchical ones. The Anglican Church in North America hopes to launch 1,000 churches and has started more than 200 since 2009. Ethnic churches are among the fastest-growing. For example, the Nigerian denomination Redeemed Christian Church of God has grown from a single church in the U.S. in 1991 to about 400 in 2009.

All this helps explain why the physical building may be less important than it used to be. Church planting today relies on social networks, the families and especially the friends of existing members. Many church-planting networks create “missional communities,” a loose term theologically, which simply means small, tightknit neighborhood groups. These groups gather to pray, share meals and help one another with child care, family difficulties or other daily struggles...

Friday, January 16, 2015

Episcopal Bishop Cook out on bail

15 Jan 2015
George Conger

A $2.5 million cash bond has been filed with a Baltimore County Court to secure the release of the Suffragan Bishop of Maryland pending her trial on charges of manslaughter while driving under the influence of alcohol.

On 15 Jan 2015 Bishop Heather Cook left the country jail in mid-afternoon after the terms of her bond were satisfied. The bishop’s whereabouts are not currently known, but it is believed she has entered a substance abuse treatment facility. No travel restrictions or conditions were set for the bishop’s release, apart from a ban on operating a motor vehicle.

Dr. Mark Hansen, one of the original Connecticut 6 rectors, paid for the bond. the rest

In a press conference to express his condolences to the French people and for not showing, Kerry brought a friend with him: James Taylor... ???

European police arrest over 2 dozen in anti-terror sweeps ...Highlighting those fears, a bomb scare forced Paris to evacuate its busy Gare de l'Est train station during Friday morning rush hour. No bomb was found. A man also briefly took two hostages at a post office northwest of Paris, but police said the hostage-taker had mental issues and no links to terror.

Visiting the tense French capital, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met President Francois Hollande and toured the sites of last week's terror attacks: the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo and a kosher supermarket. Twenty people, including the three gunmen, were killed.

One of those Paris attackers had proclaimed allegiance to the Islamic State group, and French and German authorities arrested at least 14 other people Friday suspected of links to IS.

Thirteen more people were detained in Belgium and two were arrested in France in a separate anti-terror sweep following a firefight Thursday in the eastern Belgian city of Verviers. Two suspected terrorists were killed and a third wounded in that raid on a suspected terrorist hideout. Federal magistrate Eric Van der Sypt said Friday the suspects were within hours of implementing a plan to kill police, either on the street or in their offices...

A new eyewitness report from that massacre describes the killing of one villager who was a pregnant mother, in labor, giving birth. "Half of the baby boy (was) out and she died like this," the unnamed witness was quoted as saying...

After Charlie Hebdo, Could European Churches Be Next? ...To assert this demands no gifts of prophecy. For years, the most extreme segments of radical Islamism have uttered direct threats against Christian belief and practice, and it is immaterial whether their actions are in conflict with tolerant interpretations of Islamic tradition. Radical groups like al-Qaeda and ISIS condemn modern Christians as idolaters who fall outside the Qur’an’s promises of protection. To strike at Christian churches is to fight idolatry and infidels...

Green Bay’s Board-Game Obsession
The weekly schedule of an NFL player is jam-packed and controlled to the millisecond. There are appointments that cannot be missed. There’s practice, film study and time in the cold tub. In the case of the Green Bay Packers, there’s also board-game night.

There may not be a more unusual bonding tradition in the NFL than the gang of Packers who get together regularly to play a board game called “Settlers of Catan.” For the past two months, it’s been the talk of the locker room. The number of players that have devoted a long night to the game is in the double-digits—including most of the team’s starting offensive line, among others. And don’t let the words “board game” fool you, this is not Candy Land...

Thursday, January 15, 2015

Episcopal church to review how bishop now in jail was elected

By Jonathan PittsJanuary 14, 2015National Episcopal officials will reassess the process by which the church elected a bishop now accused in the hit-and-run death of a prominent local bicyclist, the head of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland wrote in a letter to members Tuesday."A disciplinary process is underway to consider consequences for [Bishop Suffragan Heather Elizabeth Cook] as well as review the process that resulted in her election," Bishop Eugene Taylor Sutton wrote in the letter posted online.Sutton said the diocese continues to pray for the family of Thomas Palermo, the bicyclist killed in the accident Dec. 27, as well as for Cook "in this time of her tremendous grief and sorrow."A spokeswoman for the diocese said the inquiry could result in Cook's defrocking.Cook, 58, who was elected the Maryland diocese's first female bishop in May, is in jail in lieu of $2.5 million bail. She faces charges of manslaughter, driving under the influence, leaving an accident scene and texting while driving...the rest

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Bishop Heather Cook Confesses Alcohol Problem Despite Episcopal Church Saying She Didn't Have One ..."As part of the search process, Bishop Cook fully disclosed the 2010 DUI for which charges were filed resulting in a 'probation before judgment.' After extensive discussion and discernment about the incident, and after further investigation, including extensive background check and psychological investigation, it was determined that this one mistake should not bar her for consideration as a leader," noted the Diocese of Maryland in a statement on Dec. 30, just days after the Dec. 27 crash that claimed Palermo's life.

The Christian Post reached out to both the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland and the church's headquarters in New York to reconcile the findings with Cook's confession and determine the exact nature of the background checks and psychological investigation Tuesday, but calls were not returned by the time this story was published. Information from Cook's attorney on when her struggles with alcohol began were also not readily available...

The Mission Creep of Dignity
Dignity, rightly understood, has less to do with autonomy or independence than with intrinsic worth and the ability to flourish...

They are said to have pressed primary aged girls at Grindon Hall Christian School, in Sunderland, on whether they knew what lesbians “did” and if any of their friends felt trapped in the “wrong body”...

Gay Christian Conference Features “Third Way” Pastor ...Cortez is the pastor of New Heart Community Church in La Mirada, California. Dubbed a “third way” church, Cortez and his congregation declare same-sex unions can be blessed by God. This unorthodox stance on marriage and sexuality landed Cortez and New Heart Community Church’s membership within the Southern Baptist Convention at odds, and ultimately, lead to the church’s dismissal in 2014...

NARAL’s 7-point plan to destroy crisis pregnancy centers Documents obtained by LifeSiteNews uncover a disturbing pattern of public officials colluding with NARAL to hinder the efforts of pro-life pregnancy care centers. But the greatest find is on pages 5-7 of the exchange: A two-page document, on official letterhead, revealing NARAL's seven-point plan to harass CPCs...

Muslim Leaders to Hold ‘Stand with the Prophet’ Rally in Texas; Noonan: Lafayette, We Are Not Here; Let’s Blame Christianity...more

Noonan: Lafayette, We Are Not Here Here are the reasons the president of the United States, or at very least the vice president, should have gone yesterday to the Paris march and walked shoulder to shoulder with the leaders of the world...

Muslim Leaders to Hold ‘Stand with the Prophet’ Rally in Texas Muslim leaders from across America will gather in Texas this weekend to hold the annual Stand With the Prophet in Honor and Respect conference, a weekend forum that is being billed as a “movement to defend Prophet Muhammad, his person, and his message,” according to event information...

Let’s Blame Christianity For Everything, And Islam For Nothing ...But it is instructive how some on the Left are so quick to condemn Christianity for anything—even for something (the attack on Charlie Hebdo) that Christianity had nothing to do with. It would be hard to imagine a liberal reminding readers about 9/11 after a Christian extremist bombed an abortion clinic, for example, or urging tolerance of the moderate Americans, the vast majority, after a bigoted extremist shoots up a mosque. In the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo murders, the New York Times originally included a claim by a victim that an assailant spared her but demanded she convert to Islam. Later, the paper edited the passage to remove the call for forced conversion...

Angell reviews Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, by Atul Gawande. I have read the book and written a review, not yet published, so I can’t expound on that here. But I would like to focus on Angell’s increasing zeal for legalizing assisted suicide–and now, in this review, euthanasia...

Justin Welby and John Sentamu warn that Church of England must reverse its decline

Mark Woods
13 January 2015

The Archbishops of Canterbury and York have warned that decline in the Church of England has to be reversed if it is to continue its nation-wide ministry.

In a paper prepared in advance of the forthcoming General Synod meetings next month, Most Revs Justin Welby and Dr John Sentamu say: "The urgency of the challenge facing us is not in doubt. Attendance at Church of England services has declined at an average of 1 per cent per annum over recent decades and, in addition, the age profile of our membership has become significantly older than that of the population. Finances have been relatively stable, thanks to increased individual giving. This situation cannot, however, be expected to continue unless the decline in membership is reversed."

Average attendance at Sunday services has dropped by nearly half during the last 40 years and currently stands at around 800,000.

The archbishops also warn of a coming crisis in clergy staffing levels, saying: "The age profile of our clergy has also been increasing. Around 40 per cent of parish clergy are due to retire over the next decade or so. And while ordination rates have held up well over recent years they continue to be well below what would be needed to maintain current clergy numbers and meet diocesan ambitions."...the rest

But the two archbishops also called for the Church to invest more in building up its presence on social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter to get its message across online as part of a “major programme of renewal and reform”...

Monday, January 12, 2015

God of Fire, Man of Prayer: James Alexander Bryan

By Timothy George
I/12/15

Excerpt:
What was the secret of Brother Bryan’s ministry? By all accounts, it was the spirit and practice of prayer. Hunter B. Blakely, whose book, Religion in Shoes, tells the story of Bryan’s life, reports that “Let us pray” were the words most frequently upon the lips of this beloved pastor. “No man has ever believed more implicitly in prayer than he, and never were prayers more unconventional. Prayer seems to him as natural as for a man to breathe the air. Why not, he would reason, for is God not the most real thing in the universe?”

Brother Bryan was a promiscuous pray-er who prayed with thousands in hospitals, prisons, and halfway houses. He prayed with countless others at weddings and funerals, over the telephone, on the sidewalk, in the mills and factories of the city, and in his pastor’s study, which was known as Birmingham’s “confessional.” It was said that “the fragrance of his prayer life permeated the whole city.” His prayers were often short and to the point, but they were more than pious platitudes. He knew that prayer was a vital component of what St. Paul called “the full armor of God” (Eph. 6:11). Every prayer involved spiritual combat, and one of his most characteristic prayers was this one: “O Lord, help us to fight the devil!”

One of the most interesting prayer stories from Brother Bryan’s life came from one Thursday night when he was walking home alone after dark. Suddenly, a man jumped out of an alley, pushed a gun into his face, and said, “Hands up.” Brother Bryan complied as the man rifled through his pockets, taking his watch and the little cash he had on him. When the robbery was done and before the thief could depart, he heard the minister say, “Brother, let us pray.” As Brother Bryan prayed, the thief lowered his gun and placed the watch and stolen money back into the hands of his victim. the restimage

French President Francois Hollande and some 44 foreign dignitaries, including leaders from Germany, Italy, Britain, Turkey, Israel and the Palestinian territories, led up to two million people in what commentators said was the largest crowd in Paris since its liberation from Nazi Germany in 1944...

Millennial Pastors and Established Churches
Millennial pastors and prospective pastors are often hesitant to take pastorates at established churches. There are some legitimate concerns and good reasons for this hesitancy—which we cover in this episode. However, established churches can offer a great opportunity for ministry to many pastors. Millennials should not be so quick to write off working with or pastoring at established churches. And in this episode, we tell you why... Podcast:Play in new window (Duration: 20:47)

Barely five days after The New York Times ran a major news article on the firing of Atlanta’s fire chief for his views on homosexuality, a major Times opinion writer declared that religious liberty is a fine thing, so long as it is restricted to “pews, homes, and hearts” — far from public consequence.

The firing of Kelvin Cochran as chief of Atlanta’s Fire Rescue Department came after the city’s major, Kasim Reed, determined that the chief could not effectively manage the department after he had written a book in which he cited Scripture in defining homosexuality as a sin.

The most crucial portion of the Times story includes the mayor’s rationale:

“At a news conference, Mr. Reed said that Mr. Cochran’s ‘personal religious beliefs are not the issue.’ But Atlanta’s nondiscrimination policy, the mayor added, is ‘nonnegotiable.’

‘Despite my respect for Chief Cochran’s service, I believe his actions and decision-making undermine his ability to effectively manage a large, diverse work force,’ Mr. Reed said. ‘Every single employee under the fire chief’s command deserves the certainty that he or she is a valued member of the team and that fairness and respect guide employment decisions.’”

But the mayor’s words do not form a coherent argument. Chief Cochran was fired precisely because his “personal religious beliefs” are, in the mayor’s mind, incompatible with assuring every member of the department “that he or she is a valued member of the team and that fairness and respect guide employment decisions.” the rest

Saturday, January 10, 2015

Communiqué from the ACNA College of Bishops

January 5th to 9th, 2015

"For the word of the Cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God." ~ 1 Corinthians 1:18

Led by our new Archbishop, The Most Rev. Dr. Foley Beach, we met as a College to worship and pray, to study Scripture and the historic faith, and to pursue our common life as servant leaders. Meeting in Orlando from January 5th to 9th under the Cross of Christ, we sought to deepen our relationships with God and with each other, and learn ways to be more effective and fruitful.

Conscious of the weight of our responsibilities as bishops, we spent important time together in prayer, teaching, business, and fellowship; all in light of our recognition of the power of the Cross. Without question, the College emerged from this week stronger and more unified than ever before, sharing a common vision for reaching North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ, and strengthening the bonds of trust.

Prayer

We followed the Anglican patterns of prayer, with both Daily Offices and daily Holy Eucharist. Homilies by several bishops richly added to our worship, inspiring us and challenging us to grow in authentic fellowship and discipleship.

Throughout the week, we were blessed by having David Clifton, Minister of Worship Arts at the Church of the Apostles, Knoxville, Tennessee, leading our music. He wove historic and contemporary music in a gentle and powerful way that enriched our time together.

On Thursday evening, we held a prayer vigil for our countries and for those issues facing our cultures and the nations of the world.

Teaching

We were enriched and strengthened in our apostolic ministries through the inspiring sessions presented by the Rt. Rev. John A.M Guernsey, Bishop of the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic and Dean of Provincial Affairs, and the Rt. Rev. Dr. Ray Sutton, Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of Mid America (REC) and Provincial Dean.

Bishop Guernsey spoke about the importance of a bishop's prayer life and accented his presentations with powerful testimonies of the ways Almighty God had answered prayers of faith and vision. We were reminded that Jesus himself instructed the disciples to pray earnestly to the Lord of the Harvest to send out laborers into his harvest (Luke 10:2). Each afternoon the College of Bishops was enriched by Bishop Sutton's outstanding and anointed teaching on the office of the Bishop. He presented an historical survey of the ministry of the bishop, highlighting many godly examples for us as we seek to live, pray, love, and minister.

In surveying seven eras in the history of the Church, from the Apostolic Age of the New Testament to the present day, Bishop Sutton challenged the College to recover the best of the apostolic office as it has been revealed in Scripture and experienced in the life of the Church. His presentation concluded with a tremendously stirring call to us to fulfill our vocations.

In small groups, we responded to these presentations by sharing how we had received God's vision for our ministries and discussing the importance of prayerful leadership in the Church.

Fellowship

Guest of the College

We gave thanks for the presence of Bishop Mark Lawrence throughout the meeting. Our prayers continue to be with him and the faithful people whom he leads in the Diocese of South Carolina.

Wives' Retreat

Over the years, the bishops' wives have developed warm and loving relationships which were further deepened during the week through sharing and prayer. They also heard Bible teaching each morning from Krista Williams of Monroe, GA.

Business

The business portion of our meeting began with an address from Archbishop Beach, and then proceeded in four parts, each led by one of the Deans. Prayers were offered prior to the presentation of each report, and at the close of each report prayers were offered again for the respective leader and their ministry.

Archbishop Beach's Report

Archbishop Beach gave thanks for the presence and grace of God that has been evident in the first six months of this new ministry. Reaffirming the principle of subsidiarity - that the ministry of the Province is only to initiate or minister in ways that a diocese should not or could not - Archbishop Beach shared some of the unique ministry opportunities of his archiepiscopate that are strengthening both the Province and the larger Body of Christ.

These opportunities included his recent trip to Southeast Asia and Australia where our relationships with the Anglican provinces and dioceses in those regions were deepened; sitting down to dinner with Metropolitan Hilarion of the Russian Orthodox Church; and being invited by members of the Canadian Parliament to pray for the nation in the wake of the terrorist attack that affected the capital in October.

In discussion, we commented on how encouraging it is that our new Archbishop is being so well received by our international and ecumenical partners.

Archbishop Beach expressed his commitment to shared leadership in the College and Province, and demonstrated this commitment by having his four appointed Deans lead the business sessions throughout the week.

College Affairs

The Rt. Rev. Terrell Glenn, Dean of College Affairs, led the sessions on matters that touch upon the College's common life.

First, we turned to reflections on the Conclave, and the process by which we selected our new Archbishop. We overwhelmingly affirmed the Conclave's prayerful process.

We then turned our attention to the development of a process for the care of a bishop's soul should discipline be required for an act committed against our Lord and His Church. More information about the process can be found at this link. No member of the College is presently under disciplinary measures, thus making it a helpful time to develop a pastoral process.

We spent significant time in small groups, praying together, addressing personal issues, and strengthening relationships. Many commented on the growing depth and genuineness of our life together.

Provincial Affairs

Bishop John Guernsey, Dean of Provincial Affairs, led the sessions affecting the internal life of our Province.

Review of the Preface to Confirmation

The Liturgy and Common Worship Task Force submitted to the College a "Preface Concerning the Confirmation Liturgy". The intention is to ensure that each Anglican makes a public profession of faith and receives the laying on of hands by a bishop. After minor revisions, the Preface was adopted. The text is available at this link.

Task Force on Marriage

Over the past fifty years there have been massive changes in the understanding and practice of marriage in Western society, including such matters as the sexual revolution, no-fault divorce, same-sex marriage, and abortion. These changes spring from a larger rejection of the Christian worldview in Western society.

There is an urgent need for the Anglican Church in North America to review our Anglican teaching and enrich our practice in areas relating to marriage. To this end, the College approved the formation of a task force, to be chaired by the Rev. Dr. Stephen Noll, that will work to strengthen marriage by developing a comprehensive provincial marriage initiative. This initiative will consider marriage from a variety of interlocking perspectives: theological, liturgical, pastoral, legal, canonical, ecumenical, and public policy.

Holy Orders Task Force

The Holy Orders Task Force currently is working on Phase Three of its stated procedure. In this phase, the task force is focusing on the manner in which ecclesiology relates to ordination and holy orders. In 2014, the Task Force met on March 20-21 (Ft. Worth, TX), May 14-15 (Bedford, TX), September 25-26 (Pittsburgh, PA), and November 20-21 (Bedford, TX). With the help of several outside scholars, the task force has developed working documents to assist with its task.

As was the case with the previous phase, the task force found it helpful to identify and summarize what the formularies say about the particular issues related to this phase of work. This represents the commonly accepted foundation, which forms the basis for discussion. The task force also has been working to identify those perspectives on ordination which lead to divergent understandings within our tradition about the nature of ordination and holy orders. This includes, but is not limited to, women's ordination. By examining the premises upon which varying perspectives are based, the bishops will be in a better position to discuss a way forward in resolving the concerns about how holy orders are understood and function in the life of the Province.

Anglican Unity Task Force

The Anglican Unity Task Force reported on its work to facilitate simplifying the overlapping structures of our Church, particularly for the sake of the coming generations of leadership. While the task force does not have authority to mandate realignments, it hopes to foster conversations and create clear processes for local review of parish and diocesan alignments, with a particular focus on times of succession for rectors or bishops.

Multi-ethnic Ministry

We discussed our commitment to multi-ethnicity as an essential element of our life as a Church and our witness to the wider North American culture. We celebrated the advances being made by our growing Latino works as evidenced by Caminemos Juntos, gave thanks for developments among our Asian brothers and sisters as led by Bishop Stephen Leung, and gave thanks for the contributions of African-American bishops, clergy and members of our Church. We identified the significant need for growth in our engagement with the greater African-American community, and are planning a symposium to help us chart a faithful way to honor this Gospel imperative and minister to this critical need in our current culture.

Other Provincial Initiatives

We received a number of other ministry reports. The Young Anglicans Project shared a short but poignant video about young people who are spiritually lost and unconnected. We were, however, encouraged by a program that is being piloted in the Diocese of Pittsburgh which pairs young people in a one-on-one discipling relationship with an older Christian. The reports of its effectiveness are very encouraging.

Our emphasis on church planting continues with some exciting developments, particularly in new work among minorities. The Rev. Dan Alger, Canon for Church Planting, is facilitating the next chapter of church planting in the province, and has begun bringing together key church planting leaders from dioceses and regional networks in order to share wisdom and resources.

The Provincial Retirement Fund task force reported on important work being done to strengthen and improve the retirement plan of the Anglican Church in North America by merging the ACNA retirement plan with that of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA) and other diocesan and parish plans. This will result in greater buying power in the retirement plan marketplace, reduce management fees, provide superior fiduciary oversight, allow for greater ease of movement within our Province and is intended to improve the rate of return for all plan participants.

International Affairs

A report on international affairs was presented by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Bill Atwood, Dean of International Affairs. His report celebrated the scope of global relationships that bless the Anglican Church in North America. We have relationships of full communion and recognition from the vast majority of the world's Anglicans, and have robust mission partnerships with many Provinces.

We heard reports from Sharon Steinmiller on behalf of the Anglican Global Mission Partners (AGMP) and Bill Deiss, Executive Director of the Anglican Relief and Development Fund (ARDF), about the breadth of outreach in which our Province is engaged. There is a large and growing number of missionaries deployed around the world and a host of projects being undertaken. Canon Deiss reported that ARDF has funded over $6.5 million in 133 projects in more than 40 countries. All of these projects have been prioritized and approved by the ARDF board which is made up of Anglican Primates from both the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (GFCA) and the Global South. In addition, it was noted that our relationships with leaders from Youth With a Mission (YWAM) have led to hosting a Discipleship Training School program for the Province.

We also discussed the grave tear in the fabric of the Anglican Communion caused by decisions of some provinces and dioceses to depart from historic faith and practice. Inspired by the witness of provinces abroad, we are committed to upholding and proclaiming Biblical truth as members of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans.

We have also identified "point bishops" to help facilitate communication and relationships with each of the sixteen provinces where we have many friends and joint activities.

Ecumenical Affairs

A report on ecumenical relationships was presented by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Ray Sutton, Dean of Ecumenical Affairs.

The Anglican Church in North America is engaged in eight different ecumenical dialogues: Roman Catholic Church, Orthodox Church in America, Polish National Catholic Church, North American Lutheran Church, Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, Messianic Jewish churches, Good News Methodists, and Presbyterian Church in America.

Each dialogue committee is led by a member of the College, and we heard brief updates on the status of each dialogue. One of the highlights was Archbishop Duncan's reflections on the experience of the seven members of the GFCA who were invited to the Vatican's Humanum Colloquium on the complementarity of man and woman. A second high point in these conversations has been the warming of relationships with the Orthodox Church in America, punctuated in October by a visit with Metropolitan Hilarion (Russian Orthodox) and Metropolitan Tikhon (OCA).

Archbishop Beach noted that in an increasingly secular time, it is all the more essential to be working across denominational lines as we seek to reach our culture with the Gospel.

Conclusion

We leave this meeting of the College with hearts that are thankful for God's love for us and for His providential care. As we take the next steps to reach North America with the transforming love of Jesus Christ, we continue to invite your prayers for our Church and for the nations we serve. To God be the glory.